


Be My Thrill: A Daycare Verse Collection

by pocky_slash



Series: Daycare 'Verse [20]
Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers, Domestic, Established Relationship, Ficlet Collection, Kid Fic, M/M, Married Couple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-23
Updated: 2012-04-16
Packaged: 2017-10-27 21:30:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/300240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pocky_slash/pseuds/pocky_slash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Various ficlets and commentfic chronicling the ups and downs of childrearing and the delicate art of not smothering your spouse in his sleep when he wakes you up slogging into bed at 3am on a Tuesday.</p><p>(aka the continuing lives of Charles and Erik in the world where Charles runs a mutant daycare and Erik is an engineer.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. For Better, For Worse

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the following prompt on the kink meme: _When people flirt with Charles while Erik is in the room, Charles can feel his wedding ring tightening around his finger._

"It's just so _impressive_. And you're so _young_." The man talking to Charles--Henry, his name is, and he's Katherine's cousin--is very obviously coming on to him. Charles doesn't even have to read his mind to see that. He's smiling just a touch too broadly, touching his shoulder as he talks, and heaping the compliments on. It seems, when Katherine was introducing them, Henry latched onto "gay" and missed "married." He's flirting up a storm and Charles...well, it's possible Charles is flirting back.

He doesn't intend to _pursue it_. He doesn't even intend to lead the man on, but flirting is rather natural to him, still, and it's nice to listen to someone tell him how smart and handsome and accomplished he is. He knows that Erik thinks he's all those things and he'll even begrudgingly say them all out loud on occasion, but Erik is his husband, making it almost a requirement. Here is an attractive man telling him how wonderful he is without prompting; he's allowed to bask for just a moment.

"I'm not that young, really," Charles protests. "I just have one of those faces."

"I can see that," Henry says in reply, and, honestly, just as Charles is about to subtly pull Erik into the conversation, he feels a curious tightness around his ringfinger.

Ah. That would be his wedding band, suddenly smaller than it was a moment ago.

It only takes him a moment to find Erik across the room, leaning against a wall and glaring at him. Their eyes meet and Charles raises his eyebrows and then raises his hand slightly.

 _Subtle_ , he thinks wryly.

 _I've made my point_ , Erik replies.

 _You know you're the only person I want,_ Charles thinks lightly.

 _Yes,_ Erik concedes, _But it's good to remind you every so often, I feel._

"I'm sorry," Charles says to Henry, smiling ruefully. "I need to have a word with my husband. Will you excuse me?"

Henry's expression dims at the word "husband," and Charles has a feeling he won't be so eager to pick up the conversation later. It's just as well--if that conversation had gone on much longer, Erik may have started to tighten Henry's jewelry as well.

He makes his way across the room, picking through sugar-fueled birthday guests. Raven clings to his leg as he passes.

"Daddydaddydaddy!" she says, her fingers clutching his pant leg.

"Raven, Raven, Raven," Charles replies.

"Where are you going?" she asks.

"Just to speak to your papa," Charles says.

"Is Papa in trouble?" Raven asks.

"Not as such," Charles says. "Papa's being a bit silly."

"Papa's _always_ silly," Raven replies, and then abandons Charles to chase after Alex Summers with a shriek of laughter. Charles sends that last thought to Erik, tinged with amusement.

 _There is an entire department of engineers at Stark Industries that would contest that, I feel,_ Erik says.

"I think they just don't know you well enough," Charles replies, finally close enough for a private conversation. He holds his left hand up. "Really?" he asks.

"Just a gentle reminder," Erik replies.

"You're an ass," Charles says.

"And, yet, you married me anyway," Erik says. "So what does that make you?"

"Your very patient husband," Charles says, and the ring loosens back to its regular size. Charles smiles and steps closer, leaning against Erik's chest. "Really, darling, I flirt. I'm sorry. It's who I am. But I also pledged fidelity in front of many, many witnesses. There's no need to restrict my circulation to make your point."

"I'd never do lasting damage," Erik says. "I like your hands. They're very skilled at many things that are highly relevant to my interests." He sends Charles a very clear image of one of those things and Charles feels himself blush.

"Not at a child's birthday party, my dear," he says, but leans further against Erik's chest and happily accepts a kiss.


	2. Like a Freight Train

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the little things about being a husband and father that sneak up on Erik as the weeks go by.

Erik's used to the little things about very suddenly being a father--waking up to soothe nightmares, toning down his foul language, kid-friendly foods in the cupboard, a steady stream of Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel, trying to keep more human-like hours so that he actually _sees_ his daughter and husband for more than a few hours a day--but there are still parts of it that hit him like a freight train. Last week, for example, when Charles rolled over during the night and wrapped Erik in his ridiculous octopus arms and Erik realized that this was going to be _every night for the rest of his life_ and he was honestly afraid he was going to either cry with the wonderful enormity of it or throw up in terror.

Or today, this morning, when he wanders in from a quick trip to the bakery bearing coffee and tea and hot chocolate and cookies and finds Charles asleep on the couch, stretched out with one arm hanging off. The other is curled around Raven who's asleep on his chest, rising and falling slightly as Charles breathes.

He needs to sit down and watch them, like they might disappear if he looks away. He needs to stare, his heart clenching, and remind himself that this is his. All of this is his, for the rest of his life, for as long as he breathes, he gets to have this beautiful picture.

He's still staring twenty minutes later when Charles yawns and cracks open his eyes. The coffee's long gone cold, but Erik can't bring himself to care.


	3. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erik likes storms. Unfortunately, he's the only one.

The thunder and lightning are really pretty impressive. Normally, Erik would be out watching the storm or cuing up a horror movie on the dvd player, but it's after eleven and he spent all evening at a very rowdy Girl Scout game night fundraiser, followed by a surprisingly athletic bout of shower sex and he's just too tired to move from the bed, especially when Charles is using him as a human pillow. He watches the lightning through the window, though, and listens to the sound of the rain and wind as he absently brushes his hand up and down Charles' back.

He's just about to nod off when he hears the door crack open.

"Daddy?" a tiny voice whispers. "Papa?"

Every single part of Erik wants to ignore Raven and allow himself to fall asleep, but the guilt kicks in almost immediately--he blames Charles for that--and he finds himself gently extricating himself from Charles' hold and murmuring, "What's wrong, Raven?"

Raven rushes to Erik's side of the bed, and in a flash of lightning, he sees tears on her cheeks.

"I had a bad dream!" she sobs, and nearly throws herself at him. Erik feels his heart constrict and he pulls her up onto the bed one armed, hugging her close to him.

"It's okay," he murmurs. Even after four years, Charles is still much better at this. "Do you want to talk about it?" Raven shakes her head fiercely and clings to him further. "Do you want to stay with us tonight?"

"I'm not a baby," Raven mumbles into his shoulder, but that's not a 'no.'

Behind them, Charles yawns and paws ineffectually at Erik's hip.

 _Erik?_

 _Raven had a nightmare,_ Erik supplies, and Charles is sitting up almost immediately, blinking the sleep out of his eyes.

"Oh, darling," Charles says. "It was just a dream. It can't hurt you."

"I know," Raven says, but she starts crying even harder at that. Erik looks at Charles imploringly.

 _I told her she could sleep with us,_ Erik thinks. _I know she's getting a little old for that, but I'm too fucking tired to deal with this right now._

 _That's fine,_ Charles replies, and he gently guides Erik back until he's lying on the bed with Raven huddled between them.

"Ssssh," Charles says softly. He puts a hand on her forehead and hums some nonsense words. "It's okay, love. It's okay. Nothing can get you here, I promise." He must be doing some psychic soothing as well, because it's not long until Raven's cries taper off and her breathing evens out. Erik rests his hand on her back, feeling her breathe, and meets Charles' eyes in the dark. He looks incredibly fond, for all he's clearly exhausted, and Erik can't help but smile at him, tired, but deeply happy that he's here in his bed with his husband, curled protectively around their daughter to protect her from any monsters that may lurk under the bed. Erik knows he should get up and take her back to bed, but he's fucking _exhausted_ , and he's just going to close his eyes for a second before he moves her....

"Good night, my love," he hears Charles whisper, and between one breath and the next, Erik falls asleep.


	4. Accidents Happen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erik only turned his back for a _minute_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the writingchatthingy prompt "write about a scar."

If Erik had to guess which of them would handle a parenting crisis with grace and aplomb and which of them would go hysterical he...well, he wouldn't have guessed it would shake out this way.

Of course, he's not guessing anything right now because _his baby is bleeding._

 _Calm. Down,_ Charles sends to his mind with chilling finality and authority. _You're going to scare her._

"It's okay, darling, you're okay," he says out loud, petting Raven's hair even as she screams bloody murder and sobs hysterically. "It was just a little fall, ducky. You'll be perfectly all right. You're fine, darling, daddy's here. It's okay."

Charles gets a clean dishtowel to hold against the gash on Raven's head and Charles finds their car keys and Charles carries Raven to the car and pulls Erik after them with a hand firmly around his wrist while Erik stares in shock and tries not to start crying himself. _He only turned his back for a fucking minute._

"It's not your fault, love," Charles says over the din of Raven's cries. "It was an accident. She's four. These things happen. But I need you to rally and come back to me, because you need to drive us to the hospital. She might need stitches."

Erik _hates hospitals_ , but he does as he's told, staring uselessly at Charles, who's sitting in the passenger seat and holding a still sobbing Raven on his lap. Her cries, at least, are starting to taper off. Once they arrive at the ED, Raven is docile enough to go to Erik, clinging to him fervently as Charles fills out paperwork and answers questions. The bleeding has all but stopped when they're finally shooed into a cubicle and a doctor shows up to look at Raven.

"That's a nasty cut, sweetheart," he says. "What happened?"

"I was jumping on the couch," Raven sniffles. "Daddy says I shouldn't jump on the couch but I was jumping on the couch and I...I fell and hurt my head." She looks up at Charles, her eyes filling with tears again. "I'm sorry, Daddy!"

"Oh, darling, it's okay," Charles murmurs, hugging her tightly. "It's okay. I'm not mad. But now you know why I don't want you jumping on the furniture and you won't do it again, right?"

Raven nods and Charles wipes away her tears and releases her so the doctor can continue his examination. Erik feels like the world's worst father.

"I saw her," he says to Charles. He can't quite meet his eyes. "I saw that she was jumping and I just ignored it and I only turned away for a second, I swear, I--"

"Ssssh," Charles says, and it's Erik's turn to be hugged within an inch of his life. "It's okay. You're not the world's worst father. You're not even in the top ten, I'd think." He offers Erik a wry smile and Erik tries to smile back but he can't quite make it. "You'll know better for next time too, won't you?" That gets a better reaction, at least, and Erik rolls his eyes. "I've been teaching young children for six years, Erik. If everyone's alive and happy at the end of the day, it's a good day. And I'm planning on stopping for ice cream on the way home because I think the only thing that will keep me from actually having a heart attack at some point tonight is a chocolate peanut butter sundae."

For a moment, Charles' collected facade cracks and Erik can see the pain and the fear and the shock just under the surface.

It's all he needs, really. Just that glimpse and he remembers that Charles is human and he's human and everyone makes mistakes and everyone's still breathing and everything's going to be all right.

"You can even get sprinkles," Erik assures him, and this time when Charles smiles at him, he smiles back.


End file.
